truth, though. I don’t mind making food for him. I don’t mind doing the typically female things, because I can tell he appreciates them.
As we eat, Kit tells me about his day at the airfield. When he talks about taking the plane up, his eyes shine, and I can tell he misses it more than he lets on.
“Why don’t you work at the skydiving center again?” I ask, taking a sip of wine.
Kit’s lips pinch together as he shakes his head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Your sister dating your former business partner? Is that what’s stopping you?”
Kit munches on his food before answering. He puts his fork down, letting his hand circle around the base of his wine glass. I watch the movement, entranced by the way his strong hands move so delicately. Long fingers, neat, short fingernails. Strong, broad palms with tendons and bones that flex when he moves his fingers. I never knew hands could be so captivating. When heat starts to spiral down my core, I flick my eyes back up to his.
“How do you think Robbie would feel if I hooked up with you behind his back?” Kit’s eyes are serious, and I’m not sure if that’s a hypothetical question or not.
I take a sip of wine, avoiding Kit’s eye. I shrug. “I guess it would depend how you treated me and how I felt about you.”
Kit stares at me, tilting his head. “So you think it’s okay for Finn to date Esme without asking me first?”
“You don’t own her, Kit.”
“I know.”
“Do you, though? Why do you care who dates her? Why do you feel like Finn needs to ask permission? Why do you feel like you have any say in who your sister dates?” I snort, shaking my head. “Esme is her own person, with her own thoughts and opinions, her own likes and dislikes. What you think doesn’t matter.”
Kit jerks his head back, staring. “I’m her brother.”
“Why do you feel you have ownership over her?”
Kit downs the rest of his wine. “I don’t have ownership over her.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“The problem is Finn didn’t tell me,” he says, leaning forward. He stares at me intensely, shaking his head. “I went down to California to meet my mother for the first time in fifteen years, and Finn went behind my back.”
“Okay. So why take it out on Esme, though? Why be a thorn in both their sides instead of accepting their relationship? Esme obviously still wants you in her life.”
“It’s not about Esme,” Kit says, his face darkening.
I don’t know why I’m needling him. I should probably stop. But this right here—this stubborn, pig-headed sense of entitlement—it’s the one big thing that scared me in Angelo. One thing I’ll never understand.
This feels personal. Even though Kit’s relationship with his sister has nothing to do with me, I want him to understand. I need him to understand.
He’s hurting his sister and his friend for no reason at all.
“Kit, look. This isn’t my life. Your relationship with Finn and Esme has nothing to do with me. But you being mad about it doesn’t change how they feel about each other. Do you want to be the one who’s on the outside? Do you want to stew in your own anger and bitterness forever and give up everything you love? I’ve only known you a short while, but I’ve never seen you as happy as you were today. You miss the skydiving business. You miss Finn. You miss Esme and your stepmom’s pumpkin pie. Why are you running away from it all?”
“Because it’s wrong. They weren’t there for me when I needed them most. They only cared about themselves and let me deal with the hardest thing in my life by myself. My mother died, Serena. I saw her once after fifteen years, and then she was gone. And they were sneaking around behind my back without even thinking about what I was going through. Why should I care if they hurt?”
Kit’s lips tremble and spots of red appear all over his cheeks. His hands splay over the table as he stares at me, the force of his emotion pinning me to my chair.
Kit sucks in a long breath, dropping his head. “I know I should get over it. I’m not mad at them for loving each other. Deep down, I want them to be happy.” He sighs, sniffling, and my heart breaks. In a soft voice, he adds, “But what about me?”
In a flash, I’m beside him. I